


Lost in a Dream

by asoftplacetoland



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Family Bonding, Fluff, Humor, Kissing, Long-Distance Friendship, M/M, Married Life, Rose Family Feels, Sleepy Cuddles, Zoom calls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29414010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asoftplacetoland/pseuds/asoftplacetoland
Summary: When the Roses decide to start having a weekly family Zoom call, David can't seem to make it through a single one without falling asleep. Patrick helps as much as he can.
Relationships: Johnny Rose/Moira Rose, Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 39
Kudos: 186





	Lost in a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> In an effort to "talk less, smile more" with my fic writing, I wanted to see if I could get a single one shot up in a day. I'm going to count two days as a win for right now. The idea popped into my head based on real life events that I have subsequently projected onto David so there's that. 😂 Unbetaed because I was too eager to get this up and the title comes from Ol' Reid's "Jacob's Dream." 
> 
> I'd like to dedicate this fic to a very unique and special group of individuals who know who they are and how much their friendship and support means to me. Happy reading!

Patrick was unable to attend the first weekly Rose family Zoom call. Alexis had decided her Thursday night needed the accompaniment of her brother and parents while she steadily worked through her ever full e-mail and David had somewhat reluctantly agreed.

“I mean Thursdays are already my long work day and I’d much rather settle in with a pint of fudge ripple and immerse myself in Shondaland offerings but I suppose I can fit you in.” David had sighed over the phone with her the previous Monday. Patrick immediately knew he was talking to Alexis because he had that fond but you better not mention it look on his face he reserved exclusively for his sister.

“Love you too, David! Ah this is going to be so much fun! Maybe we can even play some Scattergories during the call! I have this app that lets you!” Alexis’s voice was loud enough for Patrick to hear it clear across the room despite the fact she was not on speaker phone. David huffed.

“What part of six people for optimal play do you not understand, Alexis? Is it a counting issue or do you just actively tune out everything I say if it doesn’t interest you?” There was a long pause. David even pulled the phone back to check to see if he'd somehow dropped the call.

“Sorry, David, I missed that. What were you complaining about?” Alexis finally responded. Patrick turned from his place at the stove to watch David’s face work through about ten different emotions before settling on annoyed. “Besides Stevie and Patrick will be there so that makes six.” David perked up at the mention of Stevie. Stevie had been gone for two weeks setting up a string of motels in Iowa of all places and the separation anxiety between the two best friends had started to set in. Patrick could always tell when David was missing Stevie because their own banter started to take on an edge that usually left them either horny without meaning to be or sulking in opposite corners of the house.

“Actually, Patrick can’t make this first one. He promised Bob he’d help him go over his books this week and Thursday is apparently the only time that doesn’t interfere with cry therapy or his book club with Ray, Ivan, and Roland.” David pouted over at Patrick who blew him a kiss and a regretful smile. Patrick was always sorry to miss out on an opportunity to witness the Rose family in action, even over the internet. They traveled back to Schitt’s Creek several times a year but it had been almost six months since they’d all been in the same room. A weekly zoom call with his family would likely do wonders to lift David’s spirits, though he would never admit it to anyone but Patrick.

“Oh! My favorite brother is going to miss out on our first zoom call!” Alexis cried as David yanked the phone back from his ear with a scowl. “Tell Patrick I still want to see his sweet button face and he should FaceTime me later this week so we can catch up.” Alexis practically cooed into the phone.

“Will do, Alexis!” Patrick called in response and David rolled his eyes and hung up without saying goodbye.

“You two are a constant source of self doubt, I hope you know that.” David muttered into his coffee cup.

Patrick had no idea Bob’s books were going to be such a disaster when he’d offered to help. He’d apparently been keeping a ledger by hand and on an ancient word processor on the desktop in the office Patrick had actually never even heard of. It was almost one in the morning when Patrick had gotten home, ready for a quick shower before snuggling up with his presumably sleeping husband in bed.

He hung his keys up on the rack by the door and toed off his shoes when the distant sound of laughter from upstairs caught his attention. That was odd. There was no way David could still be up talking with his family at this hour. They already communicated through multiple texts chains and phone calls each and every day and wasn’t this supposed to be a weekly thing? Still full from the pizza Bob had decided was both payment _and_ dinner for the two of them, Patrick made his way upstairs. As it turned out, he was right and wrong at the same time. David was curled up in their bed with his laptop propped up strategically in the covers. The white screen illuminated his face and Patrick could see he was fast asleep with his head still pillowed on his hand like he must have done in an attempt to try and stay awake.

“Stevie, you got it right?!” Alexis’s voice called from the computer’s tiny speakers. Patrick walked over to the bed and saw all the rest of the Roses were still very much awake. Alexis was in the top right most frame, seated at her desk, the lights dim but the sound of her tapping away at the keyboard could clearly be heard in the background. Patrick wondered how she could possibly pay attention to what she was doing for work while on the Zoom call, but he was never one to doubt Alexis Rose. In their frame, Moira and Johnny were seated in their living room in their LA home with Moira’s iPad propped up on the coffee table in front of their couch. Moira was dressed in her usual black, white, and sparkly finery and Johnny had at least shrugged off his suit jacket for the casual call. Stevie’s frame was in the bottom left hand corner next to David’s, her background a nondescript motel room wall and she was in sweats with her hair pulled up in a bun.

“Obviously I had my phone ready to go the moment he started nodding off.” Stevie said with a grin, waving her phone back and forth. A picture of David sleeping appeared to already be her lock screen.

“I do fear this sudden bout of narcolepsy is a sign of something far more sinister. Does anyone have David’s platelet count and or glucose levels readily available? I will not endure the trauma of the emergency room again!” Moira cried, her voice filled with alarm while Johnny patted her on the shoulder.

“Oh Moira, the boy is fine. He’s clearly just very comfortable around his family which means no, we are not posting that photo to Instagrammer or whatever place it is that pictures are being shared these days.” Johnny’s words were clearly lost on Alexis and Stevie because Patrick felt his phone chime in his pocket with what he was sure was the picture in question. Time to put an end to things before David started drooling.

“Hi everyone!” Patrick whispered and the chorus of his name being shouted loudly back at him through the screen was enough to startle David awake.

“Holy fuck!” David jerked so violently Patrick had to scoop the laptop up and toss it to the other side of the bed while narrowly managing to keep David from tumbling on to the floor.

“Patrick! Did you get my text?” Alexis asked brightly. David scrubbed a weary hand across his face and Patrick picked the laptop up again.

“I’m sure I did. David and I are going to turn in for the night. See you next week.” There was another cacophony of his name accompanied this time by waving and Patrick ended the connection. When Patrick turned back toward David, he was met with a David sized lump under the covers. Shaking his head fondly, Patrick quickly brushed his teeth and then turned out the lights before joining him under the covers. Even in sleep, David’s body gravitated toward Patrick and Patrick draped an arm across David’s waist, the weight of the day melting away as he matched his own breath to his husband’s peaceful rhythm.

Patrick really had intended to be part of the next Zoom call because he felt like he was missing out, especially when Stevie started photoshopping sleeping David into various movie scenes. The Jurassic Park one had made him laugh so hard, David had purposefully polished off their last box of Girl Guide cookies as punishment. Sadly, Patrick would miss out on this week's David memes as his monthly get together with his friends on the baseball team had landed on Thursday night. David was less than thrilled about his impromptu nap and he had Patrick get him an extra shot in his afternoon coffee. Right before Patrick left the store to head out to the sports bar in Elmdale the team was gathering at, he noticed David tip a handful of chocolate covered espresso beans into his mouth.

“Would you like me to just set you up with an IV of coffee before I leave?” David gave him approximately a level five unimpressed look.

“I’m all set, thank you so much. Have fun with your sportsball friends.” Patrick shrugged on his jacket and pressed a kiss to David’s cheek.

“Have fun with your family tonight.” He turned at the door because he just couldn’t resist joining in the fun. “Maybe take the call at the table so you’re not tempted to nap with an audience?” Patrick narrowly managed to duck under the pen hurled at him.

Although Patrick had a nice evening with his friends, he was eager to get home to David and his family Zoom call. He walked through the door around eleven and he could once again hear the sounds of laughter from the bedroom. He’d walked in again to find David asleep, sprawled out on his back but this time the laptop was facing toward the door.

“Ah the ever-diligent spouse hath returned!” Moira called loudly in greeting. Alexis, who was wearing a shiny green goop on her face, pouted at him as he walked over toward the bed.

“Patrick, David left us looking at the door so we couldn’t watch him fall asleep this time.” She sniffed as though she was really torn up about it so Patrick lifted the laptop so he could tuck David under the covers. David immediately snuggled into the pillows as soon as the covers were pulled up to his shoulders. He always looked so peaceful in his sleep. Patrick brushed a stray piece of hair that had untucked itself from David’s pompadour back into place and David sighed and instinctively leaned into Patrick’s touch.

“Gross, Brewer. No one wants to see that disgustingly fond face.” Stevie grumbled. Patrick snorted and carried the laptop out of the room and into their office where the charger was. It was originally an attempt to curb evening shopping sprees but more often than not they just ended up moving the charger. He set the laptop on the desk and flicked on the desk lamp before settling in the desk chair.

“Yay! It’s the Patrick hour now!” Alexis cheered; her face now cleared of the green goop of the face mask. She’d somehow also acquired a large milk tea with a smattering of tapioca pearls floating around in it between Patrick’s trip from the bedroom to the office. Moira and Johnny were out on their back patio under the glow of the lanterns tonight, clutching glasses of wine and presumably having just watched a lovely sunset. With his free hand, Johnny was holding Moira’s hand across the tabletop where the iPad had been set up and not for the first time, Patrick was excited at the prospect of being even more in love with David forty years into the future. When he looked at his in-laws, the vision became clearer. While David battled every wrinkle with cream and Patrick was never allowed to add more than a single aesthetically pleasing candle to David’s birthday cake, Patrick loved reminders that they were growing together in more ways than one.

“Patrick, seriously? Turn the heart eyes down, David isn’t even in the room.” Stevie’s dry voice crackled with distortion through the laptop speakers. She was in another non-descript motel room, the only difference being the walls of this one were a sunset orange.

“So tell me, did he start the night at the table like I told him to?” Patrick asked. All four Roses nodded.

“Yes he did. I really like what you’ve done with the kitchen, Patrick. And David clearly is enjoying the espresso maker we bought him for Christmas. He made two before heading up to bed.” Johnny informed him with a grin. Patrick laughed to himself.

“Oh David. Well next week I am planning on being here the whole time so I can prevent any unexpected napping.” Moira offered him a winning smile.

“Ever the proficient planner, our _Pat_ rick.” Patrick couldn’t help but sit up a bit straighter under the praise.

They all chatted for a bit and it was nice to see so many of the people he loved at a time normally reserved for mindless Interflix watching and Twitter scrolling. He’d signed off a reasonable hour later when the draw of sleep and David became too great and they all wished him goodnight and told him they were looking forward to next week's call.

Over the course of the week, Patrick devised a plan to circumvent sleeping spells during their Thursday night Zoom call. He sent David home from the store two hours before closing under strict orders to take a good long nap and Patrick would bring them home dinner from the café. David rolled his eyes but left so quickly Patrick had barely had time to step out for his afternoon tea. Unlike David, Patrick knew the best way to prevent unplanned naps was to take planned naps. It was how he’d avoided all-nighters in university. He would take a two hour nap right when he came home and then power study until he’d felt prepared for the exam. It had worked for him then and he’d hoped it would work for David now.

When he’d arrived home, David did indeed look refreshed and he was lively all through dinner. They decided they’d set up on their couch in the living room with the laptop on the coffee table. David had mixed them Negronis and while Patrick was about to protest alcohol was not part of the plan, David’s cocktail skills were very much unmatched. They sat side by side on the couch and Patrick could feel the comforting warmth of David’s leg pressed against his as he leaned forward to connect to the call. The other four Roses were surprisingly already assembled and they all yelled in delight as their own frame appeared on screen.

“Hello boys! So happy to have a full house tonight.” Johnny called out, his face splitting into a wide grin. They were in their kitchen tonight with what looked like takeout containers assembled in front of them.

“You’ve never seen this part," David leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "My dad is trying to find the best Chinese takeout in Orange county by ordering from every single one individually like some serial killer picking out his victims.” David explained in a low voice and Patrick watched Johnny’s eyes light up as he opened a container of potstickers. Alexis was at her desk but currently on mute though her mouth was moving and she was gesturing as though she was talking.

“Alexis, you seem to have muted yourself!” Moira said, mouthing the words slowly and pointing at the screen. Alexis’s lips kept moving but her sound was still off. Moira turned to Johnny. “I honestly can’t believe she’d assemble us during our only joint meal of the day and then ignore us, John. What if one of us needed medical assistance?”

“I mean, we’re here!” David waved and Stevie snickered from her this week's bright blue non-descript motel room.

Alexis glanced back at her computer and unmuted herself. She hurled off a flurry of words in what sounded like Mandarin before ending the call on her earpiece.

“Mom, you know we can all still hear you even when we’re muted," Alexis said with an edge of annoyance to her voice. "I didn’t think everyone wanted to listen to listen in my phone call with the head of PR at Interflix China.” Alexis narrowed her eyes at all of them. Moira took a dainty sip from her glass of sake in response and the call progressed from there. It was just as fun as Patrick imagined it would be. David and Alexis fought over who would get to pick where they would vacation as a family that summer. Stevie suggested a cruise and Johnny seemed delighted over the idea until he realized she’d meant a commercial cruise and not a chartered boat. Moira regaled them with tales from the set of Sunrise Bay reboot that seemed to mix in with the old tales she’d already told them from the original Sunrise Bay but each one was more entertaining than the last. Patrick had excused himself to go use the bathroom around nine o’clock but when he’d returned to the living room, David and the laptop were gone. Oh no.

Patrick bolted up the stairs and found David already changed into his pajamas with the laptop propped up at the foot of the bed. David made a face at him.

“What? I turned my camera off when I changed.” Patrick sighed.

“David, I thought we agreed we were going to stay in the living room.” David shrugged in response.

“The bed is comfier.” Patrick shook his head but followed David’s lead and changed into his own sleep pants and a hoodie before crawling into bed and restarting their video feed.

“Oh god! They’ve both relocated. This is not a good sign!” Stevie laughed and David flipped her off. Patrick wrapped a hand around David’s wrist and encouraged him to cuddle in closer rather than flip rude gestures at their family with the limited time they had left on the call. They chatted for another hour or so before Patrick felt the weight of David’s head on his shoulder grow heavier.

“Aaaaaaaand David’s out! You owe me fifty bucks, Stevie!” Alexis beamed, twirling a perfect bundle of noodles onto her fork. Stevie glared at her.

“Excuse you, I think the bet was before 11:00 PM and it is clearly 10:42 PM according to my computer.” Alexis shook her head.

“Um, yeah in Kansas it is but in Schitt’s Creek its 11:42.” Moira and Johnny both looked confused and Patrick hoped his attempts to stop shaking from laughter at their bickering wouldn’t wake David.

“While we are always happy to help Alexis earn some extra money, David and I are going to have to say goodnight.” Patrick said, leaning forward to move the cursor over to the 'leave meeting' button.

“No, Patrick! We didn’t even get a picture yet!” Alexis whined but Patrick just grinned and logged out before they could. He very much wanted to continue being married to David and enabling more sleeping pictures would likely not end well for Patrick in the long run. David shifted and then suddenly bolted upright.

“I’m awake!” David shouted to the silence of the room. He looked down at the closed laptop and then over at Patrick with a sheepish smile. “You didn’t let them take pictures of me?” Patrick pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“One and done of that was enough. But can you tell me why you keep setting yourself up to fall asleep during these phone calls? There was no way you could be tired given the nap you took this afternoon.” David pursed his lips and stared down at the bedspread for a long moment before speaking.

“I think my body kind of goes on autopilot back to when we all lived together at the motel.” Patrick’s face softened. David sank back into the pillows and turned toward Patrick, a nostalgic smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Half the time I’d fall asleep to the sound of Alexis talking on the phone or Mom would sweep into our room with a new idea for a project or Dad would have a question about how to update the Motel’s Facebook page late at night,” David shrugged. “As much as I don’t want anyone to watch me sleeping, I don’t think I’ve ever slept better than falling asleep on these calls and waking up in your arms.”

Patrick nodded in understanding. He knew it was sometimes difficult for David to be away from his family after their time together in Schitt’s Creek but it made him happy to know David would always include him as part of the equation. Patrick bent down and kissed him, slow and sweet. David fixed him with a look when Patrick pulled away and went to turn off the lights.

“If you ever tell my family that that, I’m going to eat all of the fudge your mom sends in the next care package.” Patrick laughed as he made his way back over to the bed in the dim glow of the night light clipped to David’s bedside table.

“You already do that, David.” Patrick pulled back the covers and David immediately cuddled in when he laid down, nuzzling against Patrick’s throat as his hands fanned out across Patrick’s shoulders.

“Too tired to think of a better threat so just imagine one for yourself.” David mumbled. Patrick carded his fingers through David’s hair as they both relaxed into each other’s arms.

“Am I allowed to watch you sleep?” Patrick asked and David snorted.

“Only if you don’t make it weird.” And with that, David retreated to his side of the bed. Undoubtedly, he’d migrate back toward Patrick eventually but for now Patrick was happy to have a good vantage point. He made a show of resting his head on his hand as David closed his eyes and turned his face toward Patrick.

“Noted.” Patrick staged whispered to the darkness. He watched as David’s face started to grow slack, his breathing evening out. David was gorgeous even in sleep.

“Patrick, I can feel you watching me.” David said without opening his eyes. Patrick laughed and let his own head rest on his pillow.

“Goodnight, David.” 

“Goodnight, Patrick.”

The last thing Patrick remembered before falling asleep was David’s soft exhalations and his even softer, sleepy smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are better than Valentines to this writer. Also feel free to come visit me on a [tumblr!](https://asoftplacetoland26.tumblr.com/)


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